On Friday, 250 pilgrims were evacuated from the disaster-affected areas of Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand, including an 18-member party of Shiva devotees from Madhya Pradesh. The incident occurred on Tuesday while the Kanwariyas from Madhya Pradesh’s Morena district were travelling to Gangotri to gather Ganga water, and authorities prevented them from continuing. The group was transported to Chinyalisaur on Friday in the IAF’s Chinook helicopter after spending the previous few days under shelter at Sukki Top.
Sukki Top had no phone service, and despite their best efforts, their family members back home, who were alarmed after watching the terrifying videos of the terrible flash flood in Dharali, were unable to get in touch. According to group member Hari Om, they departed Madhya Pradesh for Gangotri on July 28 in order to gather Ganga water, but they were denied entry because of the Dharali tragedy. “On August 25, we intended to gather Ganga water from Gangotri and perform ‘jalabhishek’ at the Babu Maharaj shrine. However, the calamity prevented us from continuing our journey,” he stated.
According to Hari Om, a ‘jalabhishek’ at the Babu Maharaj temple is thought to heal persons of a variety of ailments. Since the catastrophe on August 5, there have been no cell towers on Sukki Top. People at home became anxious and began calling nonstop after watching the Dharali tragedy on TV. We discovered that all 18 families were seated in the same courtyard, attempting to get in touch with their loved ones, when we contacted home after arriving in Chinyalisaur,” he stated. He responded, “Not at all,” when asked if he felt sorry for going home without being able to make it to Gangotri. Rather, I am pleased that 18 Shiv bhakts’ lives were spared because of Bholenath’s kindness.
Some of them were able to speak with their family once they were in Chinyalisaur, who insisted that they go back home after gathering Ganga water from Haridwar rather than Gangotri. “All of us will go from here to Dehradun, and from there, after filling water in Haridwar, we will go home straight away,” he stated.